I promise this will tug at your heart and excite your spirit...

A very good friend of mine sent this to me...it is a true story and happened to her a few weeks back. It really stirred my heart and formed a true picture of what the Lord is calling us to...as "the Church, the Body, the Bride"...I hope it awakens your spirit as it did mine and opens your eyes to all the opportunities the Lord places before all of us each & every day. My prayer is that all of us would have the God-given boldness to respond as my friend, her manager and the Red Cross lady all did!! To God be all the Glory for what he accomplishes through each of us when we submit & align with His will!!!

About three weeks ago, two days after spraining my knee I went to work to pick up my paycheck. And while I was there my manager pointed out the window and said “do you see those 3 people sitting on the bench out in front of our building?” I looked out the window and there I saw 3 people sitting on the bench just as my manager pointed out. He then said to me, they have been sitting on that bench for 3 days now and I don't know why they haven't moved. If anyone knows who I am, of course my heart was taken by the situation and I immediately went over to see if they were hungry or needed help. They followed me over to Omega Zone where my manager was kind enough to let me make them a hot meal at no charge. I offered him some money but he would not take it. My manager then took out a $20 bill out of the register and had me go over to the store to get them some clean towels and toiletries for showering. They were so grateful as they carried their torn suit cases and two trash bags filled with their belongings that they did not have any care or concern about their appearances. As they filled their bellies and I sat to talk with them as if we were old friends. They were very sweet and friendly and the old man spoke to me with such joy as he explained that their home had been burnt down to the ground just a few days before, and so they were left to pack up what was left from their home and got on a bus which dropped them off a mile away from the bench they had been sitting on for 3 days. They had gone to the church across the street to ask for help but were turned away. His wife had trouble walking so they stopped to sit on the bench and had been trying to hitch a ride to Tennessee where their daughter is located. Even after hearing their sad story they were so pleasantly happy. Then the long bearded old man holding his cane turned to me and said that God has never left me or forsaken me. And without my God I am nothing. Chills ran down my back to hear such courage and he asked me my name and thanked me for helping them. It's not me I replied "God tugged on our hearts as we saw you through the window." My manger then asked me to call the Red Cross and see if there was anything they could do for these people. The Lord truly opened the door for the next thing I am about to tell you. I called the Leesburg Red Cross and spoke to a woman name Gina, I had told her their situation and she bought them three one way tickets to Tennessee leaving the next day. She then said to me, I was just leaving my office and the phone rang. I thought about letting it ring to voice mail but something told my heart to pick it up. After telling her their story she was happy to help. She said that their tickets would be waiting for them at the Leesburg bus station and all we needed to do was get them there by tomorrow. Now, that right there was a God thing, because she said usually it would take at lest a few days to get it approved, but that she was making an exception. Wow. Amen. So I then left my work place to go and cash my paycheck, and when I returned I found out that my manager had gotten a cab to drive them to the bus station. My manager then packed a bag full of snacks and drinks from the kitchen and had me give them the bag of food. They smiled so happily and said thank you. My manager and I then split the money for the cab fair and as they were ready to leave I said to the cab driver here is twenty seven dollars to get them there and three dollars tip. He looked at me very annoyed and said I don't know if that's going to be enough to get them there. I asked him his name and said to him, these people have been sitting on that bench for 3 days and you are being a huge blessing just by driving them to there destination, he looked over at me and said, "I know, I passed by them everyday for the last 3 days and I saw them sitting here". I simply said thank you and called him by his name and he turned to me with a change of heart and kindly said, I'll get them there. Of course it was truly a wonderful feeling knowing that we could help them as they drove away, it just goes to show God is always allowing situations for us to choose to love our neighbors as ourselves. He truly lives through us and just by showing HIS love we have so much to be grateful for. We may never see these people again but the old long bearded man left his cane behind by accident or on purpose we will never know. His cane now hangs in our facility which you can see as you enter into the door to remind us of how everyone is just a small step away from losing everything. So the next time you see someone sitting on a bench hungry, picture yourself on that bench, what would Jesus do?
It's just that simple!